The Cats --By Brynn
by Hokuto-chan
Summary: Once again. BTW, this is in 4 parts. Brynn's email is LdyKier@aol.com
1. Default Chapter Title

# The Cats

This is a story by Brynn, who you can reach at ldykier@aol.com 

Here ya go! 

~Cassie~ 

Imagine this: You're riding in a truck with your best friends. You're jamming to the BareNaked Ladies. Something goes wrong.... 

"Hurry up, Cassie!" I heard Rachel yell. 

"Yes, or we will turn Jake into a sausage McMuffin." 

"Ax, pumpkin. It's 'hurry up, or Jake will turn into a pumpkin.' Not a McMuffin. Geez," Marco correceted. 

"Remind me again why I'm turning into a pumpkin." 

I ran down the stairs and collided with my mom. "Cassie, don't run," she said, handing me a load of dirty laundry. "Can you put this in the wash?" 

"Mo-om!" 

"Ca-as!" 

"Not funny." 

"I know 16-year-olds hate their parents, but it would help so much if you would. You know Gloria's coming. 

"Alright, fine," I replied, taking the basket. "You win, this time." I went to the garage, threw the clothes in, dumped some detergent in to follow and closed the lid. I walks over to everyone. Jake wrapped him arms around my waist. All of a sudden, a knock came from the door. "Let me, will you? I'm tired of being outside." 

"Hahaha. Leave him out. He's late. He's always late," Marco said, grinning and flopped over on the couch. 

"I'm NOT late." 

"Your watch is wrong." 

"It broke." 

"Hey... you don't have a watch!" 

"Exactly!" 

"Let him in, already. This arguing-through-the-door thing is a pain in the butt," Rachel said. 

I opened the door and Tobias casually walked in, as if nothing had happened. I noticed he was in a bit of a predicament with his hair hanging so low over his eyes. 

"Can you see?" Marco asked, flicking a rubber-band in Tobias' general direction. 

"Sort of." 

"Dork." 

"Freak." 

Rachel smacked Marco on the back of the head. 

"Ok people, be nice. Let's go," Jake interupted. 

"I wanna drive! I wanna drive! PLEASE, let me drive! If you don't, you'll buy me a car!" Marco yelled as he practicly jumped off the couch. 

"Ok, Marco," Jake said, "but if you wreck my new truck, I have permission to kill you." 

Marco ran outside. "I GET TO DRIVE! I'M SO HAPPY!" 

Jake rolled his eyes, took my hand and led me outside. 

Marco jumped into Jake's truck. "Wait.... keys... I need keys..." 

"I wondered when he'd figure that out." 

I laughed. 

*********************************************************************

Finally, we were on our way. Marco was driving, I was beside him, Ax beside me, Rachel, Tobias and Jake in the back. "Marco, we're going the wrong way." 

"It's a short-cut." 

"He's lost," Rachel interupted. 

"I am not! My cousin taught me this way." 

"Liar." 

"Am not." 

"What's that?" I almost yelled as something ran out in front of the truck. Marco slammed the brakes. We stopped sharp and thudded against something. Someone outside screamed. "What was THAT?" Tobias asked, his arms around Rachel in a protective fashion. 

"I dunno," Marco said, unfastening his seat-belt,"but I'm gonna find out." 

"Me too," I said, pushing Ax out of the way as I scrambled to the door. Ax fell out, I fell on top of him, Rachel opened the door and tripped on us, Tobias on top of her, his arms still around her waist. 

Jake looked for another exit. 

"Hey! You! All of you! Who taught you to drive?" came a voice from the front of the truck. Then I swear I heard a slap. "Cripes! I thought Luis taught you better than that!" 

"Some one get in the truck. Back it up." 

Jake poked his head through the window. "Marco, I thought you were a better driver than that! Running over people! Geez!" 

"I know. Jake, can you back the truck up?" 

"Yeah. Who's over there?" 

"Paul." 

"Oh, fun." 

"Get me out from under this truck before I have to hurt you!" 

Jake backed up the truck, slowly, carefully. Finally the front tires bounced slightly and Paul was free. 

I walked over to Paul. Marco stood up and offered him a hand, which was taken and Marco pulled him up. Paul leaned over on him. "This is fun..." 

"It's really starting to swell too," Rachel pointed out. 

"Yeah. It's probably broken," I said. 

"Well this is great," Marco replied. 

"Broken? Br-ok-en? Brow. Ken. What is brow ken?" 

"That was different," Paul said. 

Everyone laughed. 

"There he is!" came a new voice from an alley way. 6 people ran out from the alley, a short girl in front, 5 taller, more muscular guys behind her. "Get him!" she ordered. "Get the traitor! We can let a leak get out!"

"Crap, you guys gotta get outta here," Paul said, putting a free hand on the nearest wall. "Go." 

"I'm not leaving until I know you'll be alright." Marco told him. 

"I'll be alright. Now leave!" 

"No." 

"Marco, they have guns. You have a truck. Hmm, I wonder." 

"I won't leave. Get in the truck." 

"They'll kill us all if you keep this up." 

Jake had gotten out of the truck by this time. He walked over to me. "Marco won't leave," he whispered in my ear. "You and Ax go get the cops and an ambulance. I'm going to stay here." 

"Jake, I want to stay with you." 

"Not a chance, Cass. Go. You'll be better off. I've got to keep an eye on Marco. He'll get himself killed one way or another if I don't." 

"Jake, I'm not leaving." 

He grabbed my arm and pushed me toward the truck. "Jake!" 

"Shh! Cassie, please." 

"Jake, you'll get hurt." 

"I'll survive. You go get the cops. The faster you get help, the safer everyone will be. Please, Cassie go." 

I kissed him gently. "Alright, but I'll be back." 

He smiled. "Go." 

I ran down the alley, Ax close behind. 

~Marco~

I watched Cassie run. I grabbed Paul's arm just as they started shooting. Jake and I helped him into the truck. Tobias and Rachel scrambled in and Jake slammed the back shut. All five of us crouched down like scared cockroaches. "This is fun," Rachel complained,"Remind me to do this more often. I've been missing out." 

"Who are those guys?" Tobias asked, holding Rachel close. 

"Crows," Paul answered. I looked him over, the dark hair, the green eyes, the pierced ear. Tough-guy hair cut. Not someone you'd want to tangle with. "I was one of them." 

"Crows?" Rachel asked. 

"It's a... well... umm... see, it's this..." he mumbled something that I couldn't hear. 

"What?" I asked, squinting at him. I've always looked up to Paul. I wanted being a Crow to be something good. Something he could be proud of. But by the way those Crows acted and the way he seemed to think of himself now, I could tell he wasn't. 

"A gang." 

"What?!" I nearly exploded as I lashed out at him. 

Rachel put a finger to her lip. 

"Look, these guys are the most dangerous gang in the state. Not someone you'll want to tango with. If you--" 

"We,"Jake corrected. 

"Fine 'we.' If 'we' don't get out of here now, we're dogfood." 

"I couldn't have put it better," Rachel said with a grin. 

By this time, I was fuming. Jake grabbed my arms and held them behind my back. I kept struggling, but Jake wasn't letting up. 

"All we want are the traitors. Give 'em up 'fore we shoot y'all to pieces." 

"Now what?" Rachel hissed. 

"You give me up, or we all get killed." 

"My favorite part of the game, sudden death." 

"We're not leaving you here," Tobias said, almost bravely. 

"Real heroic, kid, but this is the part where we turn into purified string beans." 

"No one's getting killed," I said, finally freeing myself from Jake's "grasp of death." 

~Ax~

As we continued to run, I was constantly tripping over small, unnamed objects. 

"Ax! Come on!" 

I nodded and we jogged on. Cassie sqeaked and fell. Something-- or someone-- had her ankle. "Let me go!" 

"Who are you? State your business, Crow." 

"I'm not a bird, now let me go!" Cassie yelled at him, kicking and struggling in vain to be freed. "My name's Cassie!" 

A young man with "bleached" hair removes himself from the shadows. He relased Cassie's foot and took her wrist, standing and forcing her up with him. He was taller than Marco or Prince Jake. In a way, he reminded me of Tobias. Perhaps it was the cut of his hair. "What are you running from?" 

"Some people. I need to call the police!" 

His eyes widened and then shrunk to slits in suspician. "You know Paul?" 

"Yes. I know him and he and a group of my friends are in big trouble." 

"The fuzz cannot stop the Crows, sinoreta." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Trust me. What you need, is a cat or two." 

"What? A cat?" 

He sighed. "You got no idea what I'm talkin' bout, do ya?" 

"Not a clue." 

"Where do you get your pizza?" 

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

"It's a simple question. Answer it." 

"The Anchovie. What does that have to do with anything?" 

"Good. Go there. Ask for Guido." 

"I know Guido. Why should I do what you say?" 

"Do you really have any other choices? Do what I've told you. Tell him the number of Crows and where they're attacking. That is clear, si?" 

"Alright, fine," Cassie said, taking her arm away. "Let's go Ax." 

We backed away from him slowly, and only when he was out of sight did we turn and run. 

~Jake~

Rachel glanced over the side of the truck. "Our happy little group is growing." 

"Great. they were dangerous enough at 6." 

"About how many are there now?" Marco asked, holding on top Paul's shoulder. 

"About 17. Not that many." 

"Can they shoot?" Tobias asked. 

"Depends. If they're mad, they couldn't shoot the side of a barn with their eyes open. Except Alex. He's always got it." Paul looked over the side. "Oh, there he is." 

A gunshot fire and knicked the side of my truck, not 3 inches from Paul's hand. "See what I mean?" he asked and withdrew his hand. 

"So, gun-boy is waiting for us. We're gonna get killed." Marco complained. 

"How many times do I have to say that?" 

"No will die. Cassie's gonnaget help. I hope she's called already." 

"You know, I've always said crows are trouble." Tobias put it. 

"You've heard of the Crows?" 

"I meant the birds." 

"I knew that." 

"Uh-huh." 

"Even with a busted leg, I can kick your butt, so shut your mouth." 

"Yes sir." 

Rachel looked totally annoyed. "Can anyone go anyhwere without getting into a fight anymore?" 

Paul shook his head and smiled. 

Marco looked a bit spaced out, so I tapped him on the shoulder. "Hello?" 

"Huh?" 

I smirked. 

Marco smiled. At least he was smiling. I tried to think of what we could do. We couldn't morph in front of Paul and we had no weapons. Our only hope... was Cassie. 

~Cassie~

I gave my undivided attention to the road in front of me. I was tired of running, but it was too far to walk. Ax was having a very difficult time keeping up with me. 

"Casse," Ax said, puffing behind me. "Why is it so far?" 

"I don't know. We... we have to get help. We have to... to get help." 

I ran into someone. We both fell backwards. "Oh, man, I'm so sorry," he said, picking up a pizza box. He looked at me. "Cassie! Oh, geez. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to run into you." 

"It's alright. In fact... in fact, I was... was..." I panted uncontrolably. 

"You were what?" Guido asked, checking the pizza to see if it was deliver-able. 

"Looking for you." 

"Lil' ol' me?" he asked, standing and picking up the box. He offered me a hand up. "Are you alright?" 

I took his hand and pulled. In a minute I was up. I nodded, still out of breath. Guido gave me his sweet smile. If I didn't love Jake so much, Guido would be my second choice. I sighed and looked at the ground. 

"So, Cassie, why were you looking for me?" 

"Crows," I mumbled and looked up at him. Guido's gentle face had grown hard and his deep eyes stopped shining. He said a few 4-letter words quietly. "How many?" 

"About 6 or 7." 

"Alright," Guido said, pausing a moment and then disposing of the pizza. "Show me." 

"By yourself?" 

"I don't have time to get anyone else. Not to mention that those guys are a lot weaker than they appear. It's all in the way you attack." 

I stared at him. 

"Show me where they are." 

We started out on the way to the alley. 

~Tobias~

I'd been rather quiet. I really wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to protect Rachel, but at the same time, I wanted to run away, screaming like an idiot. I thought about objective number 2 a while and figured against it. Yeah, right, run away, look like a wuss, get shot, etc, etc, etc. 

"This is so not a good thing," Marco said. 

"Well, duh." 

"Shut up, Rachel." Marco said coldly. 

"Make me!" Rachel retorted. 

"I'm glad you two are being so mature," Jake interupted, looking Paul's leg over. Another round of bullets floated innocently over our heads. 

"Give up, now! Or we'll come in there and get ya!" the girl in front yelled. 

"I've got an idea," Jake told us, quietly. "But it's risky. Really risky." 

"What is it?" Rachel asked, taking my hand. 

"I'm going to sneak around the truck, get in and drive us out of here." 

"What?!" for the second time that night, Marco was heard half-way around the nation. "No way! No way, Jake. You stay here. I'll do it." 

"Marco--" 

"Shut up, Jake. You've got Cassie and your parents and Tom. I'd be less of a loss. Besides, if you got hurt now, I'd never be able to forgive myself. And what would Cassie think? If you got hurt? Or killed!" 

"No way. There is no way in the world I am going to send my best friend out into this situation." 

Marco and Paul exchanged glances. Paul nodded and Marco crossed his arms. Jake started to get out, but in a flash, Paul grabbed his knee and forced him back in. 

Marco climbed out. 

~Rachel~

"Damnitt!" Jake roared, watching Marco dissapear over the side of the truck. 

At the sight of an easy target, Alex reloaded his gun quickly. 

"Marco! Hurry!" I hissed. 

A shot. It narrowly missed Marco's foot. 

Another shot blasted into a rock about 3 inches away. Alex was playing games. But 3 strikes and you're out and Alex wanted a homerun. Marco was on the other side of the truck and was a harder target than say, me, with my head sticking up out of the truck. "Rachel! Get down!" Tobias yelled and pulled me back into a safer region. I heard another gunshot, but it didn't rocochet. I bit into my lip and looked at Tobias. He gave me a worried, yet small shrug. 

Marco opened the door and climbed in. This was the hard part. If Alex was as good a shot as Paul had said, Marco was sure to get a bullet in the head. Marco knew it and ducked to turn the key. 

All of a sudden, a few trash cans crashed over. I stole a glance at the Crows-- they were staring too. Three figures quietly walked into the light. "Cassie!" I sqeaked. 

"Watch out!" Cassie yelled in return, pointing to the Crows. Gun-shot. Air hissed. We now had a flat tire. 

~Guido~

I shook my head. "Cassie," I whispered to her. "Get back." 

She nodded and I advanced. I knew Cassie had never seen me like this. I sighed and continued my gradual advance. "I thought you said there were six!" I hissed at her. 

"Sorry!" she explained. "I was gone for a while." 

"Geez, this is a suiside mission. Do me a favor. Go to Polly's house. Get her. I need her now." 

"Got it!" Cassie said and ran back to where we had just come. 

"Awww. Did the wittle kitty wose his way home?" B.B. mimicked. 

"No, we cats know our way around the city," I retorted, dropping my pack and drawing one of the stupidest weapons in the world. An umbrella. Go figure. With a wave of her hand, B.B. sent 4 Crows coming at me. With a jump in the air, they attacked. Why they always attack with that stupid jump, I'll never know. I hit the first two on the leg, the second I downed with a roundhouse. The last guy was only about 3 feet taller than me, so I bashed his temple with my umbrella. And he's down! That ticked B.B. off. What could she do now? Shoot me, what else? And who to do it? Alex, well duh. I hate that guy. Sent me backflipping into the alley. Not that backflips are hard. Another 6 advanced. I put my umbrella back and scaled a wall. They shot at me and knicked my foot. "That wasn't nice," I told them, continuing my upward climb. "Of all the buildings in the world, I had to get a tall one." For now, all I could do was climbed. That is one of the most vounerable positions a cat can be in. Especially me. I have no sheild like Speedy and no darts like Polly. What do I have? An UMBRELLA. Geez. 

~Cassie~

I was running again. I hate running. I'm no good at it. But I had put yet another person in danger. "There!" I yelled at Ax and we turned a corner, finding ourselves in front of a street full of small houses. 

"Which one?" Ax asked, turning around. 

I shrugged, panting. "How much time.. do you have left?" 

"About one of your Earth hours." 

I turned around to look at al the houses. A guy walked out of a two story one. Short, with brown hair and white spots,and green-grey eyes. He looked about my age. 

"Hey!" I yelled at him. "Do you know a girl named Polly?" 

He blinked a few times and nodded. 

"Which house?" 

He pointed behind him to the house he had only moments before stepped out of. 

"Oh, great! You must be... Logan?" 

He blinked. 

"Phillip?" 

He shook his head. 

"Joey?" 

"Gen." 

"Oh." 

"Polly not heawr." 

I tried to think back to what Polly had told us about her brothers, especially about what she said about Gen. She'd really only explained what all of her brothers looked like, so I was out on a limb; I didn't know her little brother was retarded. "Where is she?'' I asked him gently. 

"At the orthidonit." 

"What?" 

"Getting hewr bwaces tighten." 

"Oh, the orthidontist." 

"Dath what I shaid!" 

"Sorry." 

"Jus' a thecond, I get Desse." 

"Jesse?" 

He nodded and retreated back into the house. I couldn't just stand there, but what other option did I have? 

~Marco~

I wanted to scream like a little baby. My foot ached where the bullet had entered it. In fact, it hurt all over. 

"Marco?" Jake asked through the window. "You ok?" 

"I'm... I'm alright." 

"Not hit are you?" 

"No... no... just shaken." 

"Ok, good," he said, and I could hear the worry in his voice. I wondered if it was about Cassie. I nodded to myself, meekly and hoped he could't see the blood-- my blood that had spilled from the gross wound on the inner side of my right foot. I was constantly reminding myself to keep my head down, though I would sneek a peek at Guido's progress on the wall. He was about half way up and the Crows were knipping his body everywhere. Gut when you thought his shot, he'd wait a moment to keep the suspence and then climb somemore. A question started floating through my head. Why was he climbing the wall? A distraction? I looked to the other side. That was no good, too many guys on the other side. I felt like I was David Crocett at the Alamo, definding its great walls, but soon I would surrender and be executed. 

~Cassie~ 

A large man walked out of the house. Gen tugged his sleeve, pointed to me and then to the garage. Jesse thought about it a moment , nodded and becond me toward him. I walked over. 

"Hey," he said, walking to the garage, keys in hand. He opened the door and pulled it up, revealing a motorcycle and two cars; one looked like it would never run again, the other relitivly new. "Gen," he said, tying his long hair back. "I'll get Polly. If you need a ride to get back to your friends," Jesse said, turning to me. "I'm afraid I can't help you. Isacc's the only one inside who can drive and I know he's not up to it. You'll have to walk back," he pulled a helmet on,"or get Mom's old car running." With that, Jess stradled the bike, sighed and revved up, driving off. 

Gen nodded and once again retreated inside. Ax and I sat down on the curb. "Ax, what are we going to do?" 

"I don't know, Cassie." 

"This is terrible.." 

Ax nodded, looking back at the house. I closed my eyes and stood, looking at the house. Then something happened that I never thought would. Isacc, leaning heavily on a crutch, exited the house and limped over to me. I'd met him before, when there wasn't so much pain in his green eyes and he had wolf-grey hair. He was still extremely handsom, I had to admit, even with no hair. As he approached, he offered me his tired and worried smile. I never knew so much emotion could go into one little smile until I met him. I nearly threw myself at him in a hug, but held back. He looked so fragile, like a China doll; like he would shatter into a million pieces if I so muched as touched him. He looked so weak, but he was too stubborn to stay home. "Hey, Cass," he said, weakly, but I could still find the warmth in his voice. He stumbled and fell, but I was there to catch him. I was amazed by the light weight in my arms. "Thanks," he said, pulling himself to a standing position again. 

"Are you alright?" 

"I'll be fine, once I know you and your friends are safe," he said, taking a few deep breaths while his face grew lighter. 

"You shouldn't do this. You'll kill yourself." 

"Ha," he replied, a smile once again his face. "Let's go." 

"You're nuts." 

"I know. Ain't it cool?" 

"No. Now if you're sure you want--" 

"I want to Cassie. Don't make me argue with you. We have to get going." 

I nodded. 

"Let's go," he said, limping over to the car. "Wait a sec. Can't you drive?" 

"No, I'm 15." 

"Oh, well.," he climbed into the driver-side door and I got in beside him. Ax climbed throught the back door. "Hang on," he said, backing up into the street. 

~Polly~

''Ahhh! Ugh. Mom! Don't! NO!" 

"Polly,stop acting like a 3-year-old." 

"I like being a 3-year-old! Don't do this!" 

"Polly!" she yanked my arm. "Let's go!" 

"But Mom!" 

"But Mom nothing!" 

"Ugh!" I sighed and walked inside. 

"I LOVE this!" Jan said, practicly jumping off the walls. 

"Stop it, Jan," I said, kicking her on the shin. 

"Ow! Mom!" 

"Polly!" 

"What?" 

"Mean little brat!" 

"Shut up, Jan!" I jumped at my older sister. Nathan stuck out his hand and send me rolling. The receptionist looked horrified. 

Jan laughed and wrapped her arms around Nathan, who gave me a little-bitty-"sorry-I-did-that-to-you" smile. I growled at them and picked myself up. This was not fair. I was getting my braces tighted and Jan was getting hers off. Unfair! 

"Alright ladies, who's first?" 

"Me!" I yelled, jumping toward the orthidontist. 

"Alright, come on in." 

"Argh! Polly!" Jan screamed after me. 

I laughed all the way down the hall. 

~Paul~

"We're all gonna die," I said, struggling to keep myself conscious. "This is nuts. Will you kids just leave?" 

"Get a life," Marco told me. 

"I have one." 

"Yes, and this is YOUR life." 

"Shut up." 

"Yeah right. Hey! Look at Guido!" 

"Oh my gosh... he's gonna fall!" the blond yelled. 

"Don't fall, Cat," I thought, the blackness surrounding me fully. "Just don't fall." 

[ Cats, pt 2.][1]

[ Email Brynn here. ][2]

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/anistuff/cats2.html
   [2]: mailto:LdyKier@aol.com



	2. Default Chapter Title

# The Cats pt 2

The Cats. Cont.

~Jesse~ 

I hate motorcycles. Always have and aways will. The only reason I ride the piece of junk is because when you have as much moeny as we do, you don't throw away things like that. I could finally see the orthidontist's office. I was really glad me mom had showed me where it was because the only sign in front was the big, ugly one that said "ORTHIDONTIST" is big, bold letters. I pulled into the lot and parked my bike. I ran inside, jerking my helmet off. "Jesse!" Mom yelled. "What are you doing here?" 

"Isn't it obvious, Mom? He wants to see what I'll look like without braces." 

"Shut up, Jan. I came for Polly." 

"Real mature. You're 24 and you act like Polly." 

"8-years differance isn't much," I replied, looking at Mom. "Where's Polly?" 

"Inside," she said, motioning to the wooden door that led to the orthidontist. 

"Cripes," I walked over to the secretary. "How long does it take to get braces tightened? On average." 

"Oh, 20 to 25 minutes." 

I tirned my head to Mom. 

"15 minutes, Jess." 

"Jeez." 

~Guido~

I tried to pull myself up with my right hand, but that wasn't gonna happen. I tried to move my left hand to re-grab the wall, but that wasn't happening either. I'd never been shot before and in the back of the hand is not a good place to start. I'd been near the top too. And being left handed didn't help. 

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," B.B. mimicked. 

I winced. "Not gonna happen." 

"Not all cats land on their feet. Alex, shoot him down." 

"I want to watch him fall," Alex told her. 

"That'll take too long. The other cats could come before he falls." 

"Who cares? I can hold 'em off." 

"No you can't. Not alone." 

I wasn't really listening to the two of them yakking, but instead, aiming how I was going to drop myself onto Alex. Thinking the time right, I dropped myself and landed, hard on Alex. B.B. screamed and kicked at me. I rubbed my back where I had landed and jumped to my feet. 

"A wounded cat won't go far!" I heard some Crow yell as I ran. 

~Jesse~

I paced back and forth near the door. "Jesse, what is it?" Mom asked, her gentle face taking more and more of a worried expression. 

"Guido... uhh... needs some help," I said truthfully. 

"Oh, the pizza place swamped again?" 

"You could say that." 

"Jess," she said, grabbing my large hand in her own small one. "Promise me this has nothing to do with the Crows." 

I tried not to look her in the eye. "I promise." 

"Ta-da!" Polly exploded from the office. "Look! Blue!" 

"Good, grief," Nathan said, shaking his head. 

"Polly, uh, Guido needs some help." 

"Okey-dokey!" 

I grabbed her arm and dragged her outside. "Whoa! Jess, what's up?" 

"You know a girl named Cassie?" 

"Yeah. She's Marco's best friends girlfriend!" 

"Ummm... yeah. Well, she came to the house." 

"Oh-ma-God! What happened?" 

I shrugged lightly. "Crows." 

"What? Again? Oh..." she growled, almost the hissing cat-like sound she's famous. "If they do ANYTHING to Marco, I will kill them. I will kill them ALL." 

"Poll, chill," but that was too late, Polly was on my bike, helmet on, waiting for me. "Good God," I straddled the bike and put my own helmet on. 

"Hurry!" 

"Shut up." 

"Let's go!" 

I revved the bike and we drove off. 

~Jake~

"Paul? Paul? Hello?" I said. 

"Is he dead?" Tobias asked. 

"He's not dead," Rachel replied, her hand on his neck, checking his pulse. "His pulse is weak, though." 

"We've got to get him to a hospital," I said, looking around. 

"Yeah, right. How are we gonna get him to a hospital? He's a big guy," Tobias made a good argument. Paul had to be about 5'11 and I'm 6'2, but he was more muscular than me. Marco's about 6'0 and masculan, like Paul, but since he was in front, we couldn't risk getting out. Not that we could risk that anyway. I looked over to the Crows. They were all huddled around Alex. Guido's a smaller guy, but he hurt Alex badly. "Get that cat!" the girl yelled. "Don't kill him! I want to do it myself. Don't attack with a jump, either. Suprise him. And you're welcome to hurt him, but don't I don't want him dead! Understood?" 

About 10 differnt Crows yelled "yes" at differnt times and ran off. 

"Poor Guido," Rachel said, looking at the Crows as well. "He doesn't stand a chance..." 

Now I had too much on my mind. Cass should have been back by then. That bothered me the most. And Guido was going to get massacred. That wasn't a nice thought either. 

~Tobias~

"And now we die," I said, closing my eyes. 

Marco groaned. "Shut up, Tobias." 

"Who's making me?" 

"Both of you shut up," Jake said. 

"Alright." 

"Look! Alex is up!" Rachel yelled. 

"Great," I said. "We die now?" 

"Tobias, don't be so negative," Marco told me. He shifted around in the front to look at us. He moved his right foot under his leg absently. "Argh! Damn!" Marco yelled, falling over. 

"Marco, what happened?" Jake asked, obviously alarmed. 

"It's just my foot--" 

"Your foot? What happened?" 

"Nothing." 

"Marco!" 

"What?" 

"What happened?" 

"Do you always answear a question with a question?" 

"No, do you? Argh! That's beside the point. Marco, what happened?" 

"I dunno. What did happen, Jake?" 

"I'm asking you!" 

"About what?" 

"May I?" I asked Jake. 

"If you can." 

I cleared my throat. "Marco, Jake would like to know why you screamed and what it has to do with your foot. Will you explain it to him, please?" 

Marco stared at me. 

"Please?" 

"Two words: I got shot." 

"Marco! You lied to me!" 

"Well, don't have a hissy-fit about it. I just didn't want you to worry." 

"Fine," Rachel interupted. "We kiss, we dance, we smooch, we carry on. Ok? Put the past behind ya." 

"What is this? Disney's Hercules or The Lion King?" Marco asked. 

"Don't make me sing Hakuna Matata." 

"You've got to get out more." 

"I know." 

Paul groaned. "Hakuna Matata my butt." 

"Paul, you alright man?" 

"I'll survive... probably." 

"You're not helping." 

"I'm," he winced and tried to smile. "Not a helpful person." 

"We probably caused some major damage or something," I said. 

"And what... did we... learn today?" 

"Don't run over people in a truck?" Marco offered. 

"Close." 

"Don't get run over by a truck?" 

"That's it." 

"Paul, are you hurt anywhere else besides your leg?" 

"The side... right here," he said weakly, touching the side of his stomach and chest. 

"We definatly caused internal damage," I said. 

"You've got to stay awake," Jake said. "You'll have a better chance if you're awake." 

"Yeah... I know. I'll do my best." 

It was amazing. Only minutes before, Paul had been talking to us, like a normal person. Now he was half-dead and struggling to stay awake. I could only wonder how we could get him the help he needed. 

~Polly~

"Jess, do you know where we're going?" I yelled over the roaring bike. 

"Yeah, it's on Rogue territory, so we should be ok." 

"Oh, good," I said. All I could think about was Marco. I was so worried about him. He was a strong guy, but I knew all too well that he'd be killed if he attempted anything really stupid. I shook my head as Jess rounded the corner. Two people caught my eye. Guido, standing his entire 5'8 against some really large guy with bleached hair. I knew I'd seen his face before. Guido had no weapons, but neither did the Crow, so they just stood there, staring at one another. About 10 other Crows were behind Guido. The first Crow's eyes flashed he grabbed Guido's shoulder. He spoke to him, but I couldn't hear over the bike. Guido nodded and turned. Jesse stopped the bike and we both saw it at the same time. Guido's left hand was bleeding and swolen, a hole through the middle. A real hole. If he made a fist, he could have stuck 2 fingers through it. I thought I was gonna puke. Jesse was really pale, like when he found Tony.... 

All 10 Crows approached. "Back us up," I told Jess, hopping off the bike and handing him my helemt. He nodded and winked a sign of good luck to me. I sprinted over to Guido. "Hey Polly." 

"Guido, your han--" 

"I know. But first, we gotta get rid of these guys." 

"Yeah. Who's that?" 

"José. He's here to help. Ex-Crow." 

"Ok! Kick it!" 

All of them attacked. We now had a chance. We knew their weaknesses. We had an allie. 

~Cassie~

"Isacc!" I screamed. Isacc groaned in return. "Can you hear me?" 

"I can hear... you." 

"Isacc! Oh my God! What's wrong?" 

"I shouldn't... have... gone...." he trailed off. 

I looked around. A pay phone! Perfect! "Ax, watch Isacc," I said and jumped out of the car and ran to the phone. I dialed 9-1-1. If Isacc would die, it would be while he was in a hospital. I'd put his life on the line and now I had to get him out of the danger. 

"9-1-1. What seems to be the emergancy?" a young woman's voice asked me. 

"Hello, my friend, Isacc Hanson--" 

"Is this a joke?" 

"No! I'm serious!" 

"Alright, sorry." 

"He has cancer--" 

"What kind?" 

"I don't know!" 

She sighed. "Maybe you should ask him." 

"He passed out!" 

"He probably shouldn't be outside." 

"His sister is in trouble--" 

"Are you sure it's not his brother, Taylor or Zac?" 

"Argh! Stop it! I want a new operator person!" 

"Too bad. You're stuck with me." 

"Then listen. He's hurt, badly. I'm not sure what's wrong. We're on Main and West. We need help! Please send an ambulance!" 

"You are serious, aren't you?" 

"How many times do I have to say that?" 

"Alright, I have an ambualance headed your way. Stay on the line and fill me in with a little more information." 

~Rachel~

"Where is she?" Jake asked. 

"I don't know, Jake. I just hope she's alright," I answered. 

"Me too." 

Three people exploded from an alley-way. "Forget it Crows, your days are few! Surrender before we're through with you!" 

"Your sorry rhymes don't scare us, come on, you wusses!" 

"Let's see, 3 on about 10? I don't like those odds," Tobias said. 

"Don't forget me!" came a voice behind us. And a shot. And a thud. "Tobias!" Jake and I screamed in unison. 

Alex smiled at us. 

"What are you? Nuts?" I roared and jumped a thim. I clawed him. And before I knew it, I had real claws; bear claws. I was ripping through his flesh with tooth and claw as if it were play-doh. I wasn't coming off, either. No one stopping me. Not Jake, not Marco, not Cassie. I stopped what seemed hours later. I'd torn all the flesh from his face and most of it from his chest. I could see his heart beating. I could see his lungs move everytime he in or exhaled. I was settling down and just understanding what I had done. And I hated myself for it. Slowly, I demorphed. I stood there, above him. "Never... never mess with my boyfriend," I informed him, speaking slowly. "I'm sorry. But you went too far." 

"Don't be sorry," he told me. "It was my own fault. This isn't what I wanted to do. Thanks." 

"What?" 

"Thank you... for showing me I'd gone too far. No one's stopped me before. If I live, I'll never do anything like this again." 

I bent down and touched his bloody hair. His hand slid into mine. 

"Thank you," he said again and I knew that he was gone. I wondered if anyone would miss him. I stood up again, placing his limp hand at his side. I looked up. The fighting was begining, and more Crows were arriving. Jake was lying on the ground, a Crow on top of him. Marco had one around the neck and Tobias was doing his best to keep a large and growing group away from Paul. I worried about Tobias, his back soaked in his blood. I ran to help him. We had a battle to win. 

~Guido~

"Party!" I yelled, trusty umbrella in hand, smacking Crows left and right, doing my best with my right hand. Polly and I were fighting back-to-back to ensure safety. "You ok?" she asked, slicing her claws through a Crow (named Thomas). 

"Fine," I replied, smacking a girl named Laura away. "Where's Speedy when you need him?" I thought. 

"There's too many!" I heard José yell. 

"They'll take him down fast, Poll. Let's get over there." 

"You go. I'll handle this crowd." 

"Got it," I said and ducked out of the group. 

"Be careful!" she yelled after me. 

"I will!" I yelled in return, approaching José and his little "circle of enimies." 

"Traitor!" 2 girls screamed, attacking José with all their might. But José was more than a match for the two and he sent them both flying, only to be attacked by another little group. "Me amigo," Jose said, smiling, throwing another Crow away as if he were a piece of paper. I laughed and helped decrease the surplus of people. 

When that little friendly bunch was gone, all laying on the ground, covered in their own and other's blood, José went to help Polly and I went for Marco and Jake. Jake, throwing a small guy to the street had a rather worried expression on his face. I turned in a full circle, umbrella before me, tripping 3 guys that I didn't know were there, but I didn't see Cassie. That bothered me. 

"Where's Cass?" I asked him. 

He looked at me, almost startled. "You don't know?" 

"Umm... no. Where is she?" 

"I thought you knew!" 

"Well, crap." 

Jake and I had to back up from an approaching group of Crows. I tripped on someone's body. When I stood, I caught a glimpse of it. Jake and I both screamed, almost instantly joined by the Crows. 

~Cassie~

"Ax! How's Isacc?" 

"I'm not sure." 

"Isacc, can you hear me? Respond, please..." 

Eyes still closed, Isacc put his hand on top of mine. I took it up and gave it a sqeeze. "You're gonna be alright." 

Isacc groaned. 

I lifted my head at the sound of some kind of siren. I could see the ambulance. 

"They're here, Isacc. You're gonna make it." 

The ambulance parked beside us. Two people, a man and a woman jumped out. Behind them, they pulled a streacher. 

"You the girl who called?" the woman asked me as the man moved to Isacc. 

"Yes ma'am," I replied, watching nervously. 

"Are you coming too?" 

"Well, yes... um... no! I mean..." I wondered if Jake was worried. Stupid thing to wonder. But I wanted to be with Isacc when he woke up. "Just a minute," I said and jogged over to Ax. "Ax?" 

"Yes Cassie?" 

"Morph," I said. "Go to Jake and tell him we're alright and what happened. I'm going with Isacc." 

Ax nodded. "Be brave if everything does not come through." 

I tried to smile as I watched him go. 

"What's the verdict?" the woman yelled to me. 

"Coming!" I yelled back and scrambled into the ambualance. 

~Tobias~

The Crows were lessening. We had them on the run, but we were still about 4 to 1. Not nice odds. 

"Tobias?" Rachel asked, kicking a Crow away from Paul. "Are you alright?" 

Yeah, right like I was gonna tell her I felt like I was dying. Here's some advice, three simple words. DON'T GET SHOT. "It hurts a little, but I'll survive." 

"You better, or I'll kill you." 

~Jake~

After seeing the bloody body of Alex, all the Crows that were attacking us ran away like scared rabbits. Guido and I... well, we were being brave. We stood there, hugging each other, screaming at the top of our lungs. Guido recovered first. He stopped screaming and smacked me as hard as he could. I stopped screaming too. 

< Prince Jake,> Ax's voice echoed through my head. 

I nodded like an obediant servant. 

< Cassie is safe.> 

You have no idea how much I wanted to scream "YES!" but I held back. The last of the Crows were leaving. 

< Shall I show you the way?> 

I shook my head. All I wanted to know was where Cass was. Ax read my mind. 

< Cassie is at the hospital.> 

That scared me. "Everyone in the truck!" 

Everyone got in. I sped off toward the hospital. 

~Marco~

"Marco..." Polly had her arms around my waist. I held her so close, I could feel her heart beating. "Marco, does it hurt?" 

I nodded. I can lie to Jake, I can lie to Paul, I can lie to my dad! But one look into those sea-green eyes and lying is not something I can do. "It's alright though." 

"After all that, you might--" 

"Polly, I'm not worried about what'll happen to me. Paul's my main objective." 

"And you're mine." 

I smiled and kissed her, like I've always wanted to. I slid my tongue into her mouth and explored. The serious side of me told me to stop before I got my braces locked. the normal part of me slapped him and told him to shut up. Finally, I had to break it before I ran out of oxygen. 

Rachel and Tobias applauded. 

Polly blushed. 

Jake put the petal to the metal. 

~Cassie~

I'm not sure how long I sat there, waiting (in the waiting, room, go figure). I was just about to strangle this nurse who kept asking me all these dumb questions. 

"When's his birthday?" 

"I don't know." 

"How tall is he?" 

"I don't know." 

"How much does he weigh?" 

"You've got a freaking scale! Weight him yourself!" 

She got scared and left. 

A couple of doctors ran to the E.R., one of them yelling for some other doctor. 

"Cassie?" I heard behind me. I spun around and there was Jake's dad, Greg. "What are you doing here?" 

"Waiting for news on a friend." 

His pager went off. "When am I not needed?" he shook his head. "I'll be back in a bit. Hope your friend's alright. He jogged off in search of the docotors that had passed me only seconds before. 

"Cassie!" 

"How does everyone know my name?" I thought as I turned around. "Umm.. hi?" 

"It's me, Jan." 

"Oh, hi." 

"You ok?" 

"Mm-hm. What are you doing here?" 

"The doctors want to keep checking up on Nathan. He has to come down here like everyday." 

"Where's Faith?" I asked, nervously and looked around. 

"She's in the car. She'll be out in a bit." 

"Oh." 

"Is everything alright?" 

"Umm... well..." 

"Cassie, what's wrong?" 

"It's Isacc." 

"What?" 

I shook my head, blinking away tears. Jan was pale. She looked like she was going to break down. Obviously they had been hoping nothing like this would happen. That made me feel worse. 

"Jan, are you alright?" 

"Yeah... yeah. I got to go get Mom. And tell her." Jan sighed. I had laid a burden on her shoulders that she had to explain to her mother. Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned and ran down the hall. 

"Cassie, you're alright!" Jake's arms were around me so fast, I nearly got whiplash. He hugged me and kissed the back of my head and turned me around and hugged me some more. 

"Of course I'm alright," I replied, my head on his chest. "Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Thank God." 

"Tobias, Marco and Guido are a differnt story." 

"That happened?" 

"We had some trouble with guns." 

"Yeah," Rachel said, looking down, her hair hanging down and she looked a lot like "Cousin It" from the ""Assam's Family." 

"Rachel?" 

"Huh?" she looked up at me. 

"What happened?" 

"That kid, Alex, shot Tobias." 

"And Marco," Jake added. 

"And Guido," Polly put in. 

"My God, I said, breathless. "Where is he now?" 

"I killed him," Rachel told me. "Right after he shot Tobias. It pushed me over the edge." 

I was completely amazed. I knew Rachel loved Tobias--but to kill someone? That was a little too far. 

~Jake~

I held Cassie close to me. In the back of my mind, I kept seeing wounds, shots, flesh, bone. I closed and shook my head and tried to force the demon memories from my head. They stayed and played their games. 

"Jake? Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Cass." 

"Are you sure? You don't look too good." 

"I'm just thinking." 

"About what?" 

"The past events of today. Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about," I replied, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead gently, a weak smile forced onto my face. 

"Polly?" Cassie asked quietly, looking in shame toward the red-head. "Polly... I have something I'd like to admit. It's my fault... oh, it's all my fault...." 

"Hmm?" Polly's head came up, looking at Cassie carefully. Her kitten eyes didn't shine. She knew it was bad. We all knew it was bad. The way Cassie's voice shook, it had to be bad. 

"I went to your house today, you know that part, but sonthing really stupid happened. Isacc told me to let him drive me to the alley. I had no idea this would happen--" 

"Cassie, whatever happened, I'd like you tell me. It's not your fault." 

"Oh, God, it is. It's.... Nothing would have happened to him if he had been at home." 

"Cass," Polly's words comforted even me,"my brother is wild about you! I think he was trying to repay you for all the times you've been so good to him. But he knew that his body wasn't able. He knew that. It's his own fault. He knew the risks and he took them." 

Cassie shank down in my arms. Polly's soft voice had done nothing. "Everything's going to be ok," I whispered to Cass softly, kissing her temple. "I promise." 

"I hope so Jake, I hope so." 

[ The Cats., pt 3.][1]

[ Email Brynn here. ][2]

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/anistuff/cats3.html
   [2]: mailto:LdyKier@aol.com



	3. Default Chapter Title

# Cats,pt 3

~Polly~

A lot of time had passed. I was crying in Jesse's arms. I can't imagine what Jess was thinking. But I know how I felt. My best friend- outside my family- was hurt and how was he going to be a delivery boy or waiter or anything anymore? This could hurt their business. And Marco. His foot. The thought gives me chills. "It's alright," Jesse told me, his hand running down my hair as I had seen him do with Jan before. I'd never cried to Jesse. "We've got to call Jeremy." 

"You want me to do it?" 

"No," I shook my head. "I think it would be better if I did it." 

"Alright," he replied, kissing the top of my head. 

"Polly Ester and Jesse Bird Hanson! What did you two think you were doing?" I heard the all too familiar voice of an anrgy mother ring through my ears. Mom came up, glaring at me. Then at Jess. He'd never lied to her before. The piercing gaze of her bright green eyes caught us both and Jesse was on his feet quickly. Those eyes softened slightly when she saw the large, wet circle on Jesse's green sweater and my tear-stained cheeks. It didn't last long. 

"Ms. Hanson," Jake interupted. "Please, they were helping us. We couldn't have survived without them." 

She looked at Jake, her face showing her shock and confusion. "And why were you near the Crows? I always thought you were trustworthy; you've ruined your good name." 

"Mom, relax." Jesse's voice caught my ears, strong, but at the same time soft and attention-drawing. "I'm sorry--" 

"Sorry can't cover this, Jess." Mom's voice was so much louder, more authority rang in her words, and anger. Can't forget the anger that you barely saw in her-- ever. 

"Mom, I didn't mean to lie to you. Do you know what happened to Guido? Or Marco? The Crows could have killed them all if I hadn't had done that. Then you'd have all of us and people around town moping around because those kids were lost. And think of Jeremy. And the way Polly would act. The way I would act. The way everyone would act. Polly and I weren't hurt. We're not little kids anymore, Mom. I'm nearly thirty years old. Nothing happened." 

"This time." 

"Fine, this time." 

Mom released a heavy sigh. "Jesse, do you know what I'm going through?" 

"Yeah, I do," his eyebrows were knitted together, the way he gets when he's extremely serious and trying to make a point that won't be made. "I work, I help with everything, I make decisions. I know one I made today bothers you. I knew it would. I just needed to-- I needed to show you that what I was doing would help people. It did. Don't push this onto me, Mom. Not right now. I'm as human as you are. Just, please, understand, that what I did, I had to do." He stared at her a while, his deep green eyes, torn. He walked away. Jesse hated what he had done. Jesse is so strong. 

~Marco~

I layed in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The doctors didn't put me out, but instead removed the bullet from my foot and I had a front row seat. Not that I could feel it. I don't think I could have felt anything at that point. 

"Hello," a nurse said, smiling at me. "We need to know your name and number and the place where we can contact your a gaurdian." 

"Marco," I replied, just so numb, I was thinking about the dentist and getting a tooth pulled. Actually, more like a head pulled. I told her everything she needed to know. 

"Feeling alright?" 

"Can feces feel?" 

She laughed. 

"Is anyone allowed to come in here?" 

"No, you'll have until we move you to a differnt room." 

"When is that gonna be?" 

"Right now," a male nurse said, lifting me up easily and placing me into a wheelchair. I was so hyped up, I nearly fell out a few times on the way to my room. 

*********************************************************************

I woke up after a looooooong nap. Ok, it wasn't that long. 

"Marco," Polly said softly as I opened my eyes. She pushed a piece of hair so I could see her better. I smiled. "Are you ok?" I asked, although I sounded funny. Kinda came out like "Aww ooh oay?" 

"I'm fine," she giggled. 

"How's Paul?" I tried to sit up, but she pushed me down and and kept me in a horizontal position. "The doctors aren't sure yet." Polly climbed into layed her head on my chest. She seemed kind of bothered or sad or worried; it's hard to tell with her. "Polly, is something bothering you?" 

"Yeah, but don't worry, it's probably nothing."" 

I hugged her. "You can tell me." 

"Later, when you're better. I'll tell you." 

"Alright, you win." 

~Rachel~

Finally, a nurse came out, yelling, "Family of Tobias _____. Anyone here for Tobias _____?" 

I walked over to her. "Ummm... I'm probably the closest family he has." 

"Your name?" 

"Rachel _____." 

"He's been repeating you name, come with me." 

I followed her down a short hall and through a couple doors, turned right and went through another door. She opened the last door and smiled at me, a smile that makes your stomach turn and tells you something bad happened. 

"Rachel?" came the standard question. 

"It's me," I took his hand and knelt down so he could see me. Tobias was on a bed of straps, he was laying down, face first, a strap holding up his forehead. 

"Oh, man, this hurts." 

"Have they told you anything yet?" 

"Nothing. It's like I'm so classified, not even I'm allowed to know what's happening to me. All I know is I've lost a ton of blood and I'm still losing." 

"What type blood do you have?" 

"I'm not sure." 

"Wow, you are classified." 

"O negative," came a voice from the doorway. A doctor. He made his way over to us. "I'm Samuel Jones," I shook hands with him. I noticed he was quite young, perhaps just out of med school, golden hair, blue eyes, deeply tanned, muscular body. 

"Rachel." 

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Are you his sister?" 

"No, she's my girlfriend," Tobias interupted, obviously having set eyes on him before. 

"Ah. Very good. Where are your parents? I need to discuss somethings with him." 

"My parents...?" 

"Mm-hmm." 

"Can I discuss something with you--alone, Dr. Jones?" I asked, grabbing his arm and all but dragging him outside. "Tobias doesn't have parents." 

"Well, alright, who does he live with that I could talk to about this?" 

"No one. He lives with my cousin, Jake." 

"What about Jake's parents?" 

I shook my head, he obviously wasn't getting this. "They're not his gaurdians." 

"Alright... then, who is?" 

"No one. Tobias is a big boy. He takes care of himself." 

He sighed. "Well, this is the first time this has happened to me. They give me a nice break from the tiny things and offer me a patient without a cut finger and here I go with a bigger problem." 

"Can't he just make his own decisions?" 

"'Fraid not. He's a minor." 

"He can make his own decisions." 

"It's the law." 

"Who's going to make those big, important decisions then?" 

"I don't know." 

~Guido~

I was finally in a normal hospital room. I turned on the TV. Chanel 2, 3, 47? Wait... that's not right. What happened to 4-46? 

José was asleep in one of those big comfy chairs they always have in hospital rooms. 

47, 48, 83? 

I wanted to throw the remote, but, of course, darn the luck, it was connected to my bed. Yeah, sure, I'm going to throw the bed with one hand while I'm still in it. 

84, 85, 13? Well, at least I knew what happened to channel 13. 

José woke up with a start, his eyes going shift-mode, his whole body flexed and he stared at me. For a long time, we just looked at each other. Then he relaxed. Somehow, I felt like I had been played for a fool. Like he was really a Crow, but he was just making up a bunch of crap about leaving the Crows. "You alright?" I asked, irritation only slightly in my voice. 

He blinked a few times, rather sleepily, then nodded. "Si, nothing ou need to worry about, mi amigo, gracias." 

I nodded, half-heartedly. I wonder what goes on inside other peoples' heads. 

14, 16, 7...why? I didn't like that TV. But when I went to change the channel further, it turned off. Good for me, good for the TV. A few more screwed up channels, and I would have had to bust it. 

That's when my nurse came in. Big lady. Mean looking. I wondered if she could break a horse in two. Scary thing was, she probably could and did on occasion to grab an extra meal. 

Ever been to a hospital? And all the nurses are beautiful goddess except the one you get and she looks like a football player? I didn't think so. 

Anyway, she was keeping a real close eye on José. Maybe she thought he'd cause trouble. I have to admit, he's a large, shifty-eyed guy with bulging biceps and a creepy smile. Really tough-looking. Not nearly as tough-looking as my nurse, though. 

~Jake~

I slept for a while in one of those really little whhaiting room chairs. I don't know how I did it, but I did. 

When I woke up, Polly was gone which meant one of three things: she went home, she went to the bathroom, or we could visit Marco. 

"Hey, sleepy-head," Cassie said, offering me one of the cafteria's cinnomon buns. I took it graciously. 

"How's everyone doing." 

"Not too well. Tobias has lost a lot of blood; Marco may never walk again; Guido's alright, but Paul... the doctors aren't even sure if he'll make it through the night." 

I shook my head. Why was I the one who was alright? Why did so many people have to be hurt and why couldn't I have taken one of their places? I looked down at my body. Crows fight dirty. I covered in scratches, cuts and bruises -- nothing really serious. "Cass, has anyone called our parents?" 

"Polly called Jeremy and Ms. Hanson called everyone else." 

"Oh. Good." 

"Jake! Oh, that God you weren't hurt," my dad's voice said, along with the sound of his feet moving along the tiles. I didn't even have time to turn around before his hands were on my shoulders. I looked up and him and found him looking down at me. "Hey, Dad." 

"Don't 'hey Dad' me. What were you thinking?" 

"I don't know. We did something there. Dad, I know we shouldn't have taken a shorter route to the mall, but... it's fate." 

He sighed. "Jake, Jake, Jake. What are we going to with you?" 

"We could tar and feather him," answered Tom, walking up and looking down at me the same way Dad was. 

"Tom, no. Jake...." 

And that's when the lecturing began. You don't ever want to hear that long, drawn-out, redundant lecture. I just sat there, listened to the drone in his voice and whenever he expected it, I'd say something like "Right, right..." or "You know, I don't know what I was thinking." That worked a while. And then I missed where I was supposed to come in. He started over just to make sure I was listening. 

~José~

I walked out of Guido's room when he had fallen asleep and looked for a doctor. When I found one, I asked him where Intensive Care was. He told me and I went. I was just about to walk inside when a nurse stopped me. "Where do you think you're going?" 

"To visit mi --" think fast, not friend, relative, "--brother." 

"You're his brother?" 

"Step-brother," I lied. Actually, I'm not sure whose kid I am, but I'm happy just the way I am. 

"Name?" 

"José." 

He nodded and led me to Paul's room. 

"15 minutes." 

I decided I'd talk to him. " Hey, amigo," I said, shaky, wondering if he was dead. I touched his arm and, to my relief, I found it warm. "Stay strong," I told him. "You can make it. And if a nurse asked, I'm your brother." 

I swear, I saw him smile. 

~Cassie~

I walked around, looking a little lost. I tunred into Marco's room. Both Polly and Marco were alseep in the bed and I thought they looked really adorable. I stepped out, silently, and walked to Tobias's room. I looked inside and found him there, laying face down. His back was all bloody, kinda looked like someone had poured a glass of fruit juice had been poured on him. Except redder. And bloodier. I enter the room and touched his arm. He woke up really fast. "Cass. Hey." 

"Sorry..." 

"No problem." 

"How are you feeling?" 

"Tired, weak.." 

"Hmm.." 

Someone sighed from the doorway. I spun around and saw a young man. "He needs a donor. What type blood are you?" 

"AB, I think. I'm not sure." 

He nodded. "Do you know anyone who has O negative?" 

"No." 

He sighed again. "I don't know what to do. The blood department doesn't have anymore." 

"How about if I ask all my friends?" 

"That's a good idea. Not too much trouble?" 

"It's for Tobias. It's never too much trouble for Tobias," I answered, walking out of the room and into the hall. 

"Thanks." 

I smiled slightly and entered the waiting room. 

"Jake?" 

"Yeah?" Jake opened his eyes and looked at me. 

"What blood type do you have?" 

"A. Why?" 

"Tobias needs O negative. If he doesn't get it..." 

Jake shook his head as if to tell me he understood and I didn't need to go on. 

I walked over to one of Polly's brothers. He was short and stocky, built pretty well and he and Gen looked nearly idetical. Well, besides the fact that the guy in the waiting room had no freckles. Gold-green eyes and brown hair, the same shade as Gen's. "Hello." 

"Hi," I replied. 

"You're Cassie, right?" 

I nodded. 

"Logan," he said, offering his hand. I took and we shook hands. 

"Umm.. this may sound.. different, but, what blood type do you have?" 

"A. Why?" 

"My friends really needs O negative. Do you know anyone witht that type?" 

He thought a while and nodded. "Yeah, I do. But, Gen's too young to donate." 

I collapsed in a chair beside him. 

"Sorry to get your hopes up." 

I sighed. 

"Hey," Jesse said, taking a seat on the other side of Logan. "Something bothering you?" 

"Yeah. My friend needs blood -- type O negative." 

"I'm type O negative." 

"Would you donate for my friend?" 

"Sure, I'd be happy to." 

~Rachel~

I was getting really worried about Tobias. Where were we going to find a person to donate type O negative blood? I walked back into his room. Some guy was asleep in the chair beside the window. I figured it was nurse, out of uniform and maybe off-shift, taking a nap in Tobais' room. 

I don't think I've ever seen Tobias look so small and weak. I walked over and kissed his forehead to find it wet with sweat. His eyes opened and the tips of his mouth curved. "Hey." 

"Hey. You sound happy." 

"Yeah. I do," he paused and blinked at me, just to get me a little bothered by it. "this guy, Jesse, he's Polly's brother. He has type O negative blood." 

"But he's just one guy." 

"I know. Dr. Jones said that this could buy us some time though." 

I smiled too. 

~Polly~

I woke up, still in Marco's arms. His breath was warm on the back of my neck. I wiggled out of his arms. "I'll be back." 

I found the waiting room more crowded. 

I saw Jeremy after he saw me. "Polly!" he said, obviously worried as he rushed towards me. "How's Marco?" 

"He's fine," I replied. "The doctors said he did really well." 

"Thank God. And you're alright?" 

"I got away pretty clean." 

"Do you know anything about Paul?" 

"They're not sure if he'll even make it through the night." 

"Tell Marco I'll be there in a few minutes." 

"Got it," I replied, watching him jog to Intensive Care just as José was getting kiced out. The way he was arguing with a nurse, I figured he's get kicked out. 

~Guido~

I get sick of staying in one place for a long period of time. I sat up and looked at my now useless hand. I pushed myself out of bed and relized I was wearing one of those really annoying hospital gowns. I located my jeans and struggled to button them with one hand. I scared myself when I put my fingers through the other hand. 

When I got my jeans on and shirt on, leaving my shoes behind because they were such a hassle, I snuck back into the waiting room. "Free! Free at last!" 

A nurse came along and looked at me funny. I hid my hand. "I got stuck in one of the bathroom stalls. You should get those fixed. 

She nodded and walked on. 

"Guido, dude! What are you doing?" Speedy asked, interupting my brisk walk to the front door. 

"Shhh! You want me to get strapped down to my bed? Shut your mouth." 

"Ooooo... Lemme see your hand." 

"What?" 

"Come on, dude, just lemme see." 

"No." 

"I heard it was bad, dude. I just wanna see how bad." 

"Fine, but I'm warning you, it's nasty." 

"That's ok," he grabbed my arm and twisted it so he could see. "Owch." 

"No, ya think?" 

"What happened to you?" a nurse asked, examining my hand. 

"I was hungry and I chewed it off," I replied, smiling broadly as Speedy giggled like a little girl. 

"Alright, Seinfeild, back to your room." 

"You really think I could be the next Seinfeild? He's my hero." 

"Look, I can be quite cruel when it comes to comedy." 

"Well, don't take me back to the torture chamber." 

She grabbed my good hand, ignoring me, and dragged me down the hall. I started skipping and singing "We're Off To See The Wizard." I sang the wonderful wizard song all the way down the hall and when I got to a part I didn't know, I sang in "la la's" and even louder. 

~Cassie~

I was sitting in Guido's room and he was on about the 30th verse of "John Jacob Jingle Himer Smhite." 

"John--" 

"Shut up!" 

"Sorry Cass. Oh, there was a man who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N... N...C...D! B-I-N-C-D! B-I-N-C-D! And Bingo was his name-o! There was a dog who had a man... wait..." 

I laughed and shook my head. "Hey Guido?" 

"Huh?" 

"There's something I don't understand about you." 

"What's that? How I stay so fit? How my teeth stay so white? How I always look so good?" 

"No. Why don't you go out? Like with girls?" 

"Don't have the time." 

"Guys our age usually make time." 

"Keyword : usually." 

"Then you admit you're unusual?" 

"Duh." 

"Why do I bother?" 

"I'm not sure." 

[ The Cats, pt 4. ][1]

[ Email Brynn here. ][2]

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/tx/anistuff/cats4.html
   [2]: mailto:LdyKier@aol.com



	4. Default Chapter Title

# The Cats. pt 4.

~Paul~

I finally woke up. Pain everywhere. I couldn't open my eyes, but someone was there. My right side felt like it had exploded. My leg was crushed. I knew it was, near the knee, on top of my shin. I knew I was in deep. And I wasn't even sure if I was awake. Was I dead? Can dead people feel pain? Was I hanging on by a thread? Did they know if I was going to make it? Did I know if I was going to make it? My clouded head filled with more thoughts as I attepmted again to open my eyes and look around. I cursed trucks and then wheels and Ford. I mean the man, not the line of vehicles. I could have just gotten up and killed someone. If I could have gotten up. 

Finally, my mind grew less hazy but I felt really drowsy. Something snapped into my head. "You can make it. And if a nurse asked, I'm your brother." 

~Jake~

I was half asleep in one of those awful chairs again. I couldn't go to sleep completely thanks to all the images my dad had left me to think about. 

"He's awake! He's awake!" Jan exploded into the waiting room. 

Cassie walked out of Guido's room with a little background music of "56 bottles of beer on the wall! 56 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 55 bottles of beer on the wall!" 

"Who's awake?" I asked, opening one eye. 

"Isacc. He's awake! Cassie, he wants to talk to you." 

Cass nodded nervously and followed Jan. 

I followed her. 

When we were inside, I stood against a wall. Isacc was hooked up to about 10 machines. I felt so bad for him. I'd never seen him before or met him when he was heathly -- healthier -- but now, he was so smal and thin. At a touch, he looked like he'd fall apart. His body looked like a 12-year-olds, but his face showed years he'd never know. His eyes were the only thing that made him look real. And when he saw Cassie, they shown brighter. 

"Cassie," he said, weakly, attempting a smile. 

Cassie was crying. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew he needed to do it. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Isacc." 

"Cassie, you have nothing to be sorry about," he paused, his face paling slightly, but forcing himself to go on. "If it was your fault, why would I have asked you in here? There's nothing in the world that you've done wrong. I've never been healthy, and I never will, but I just wanted to help you and your friends so much that I.. I..." 

"Risked your own life? Isacc I should have left. There was nothing for me there. Sitting on the curb and thinking was not smart and letting you come out of that house and take me somewhere in your condition was not any smarter. I could have easily gotten back and nothing would have happened to you." 

"But Cassie, if I hadn't have offered, you could have gotten back and been shot. There was nothing that was going to keep me from helping you, cancer or no cancer." 

Cancer. I didn't know he had cancer. 

"But --" 

"There's no buts in this conversation. As far as I know, this is alright. I'm alright, you're alright. Alright?" he was joking around with her, trying to make her smile now. He moved his eyebrows a bit -- I guess that's about all he could do -- and grinned at her. "Everything's just fine." 

"Ok, everyone, let's go. He needs his rest," the nurse shooed us out. "Go on. Come back later. You've worn him out." 

I hugged Cassie. "Everything's ok, see?" 

"Yeah," she replied, staring at the door. "I guess. I just hope he really is ok." 

~Marco~

When my dad walked in, I knew Paul was in it bad. But I wasn't feeling emotion right because I was so hyped up on pain medication. "Hiya Pops," I said and laughed. 

"Is he alright?" Dad asked Jenni, my nurse. 

"Oh, he'll be fine. He's just not used to the pain medication he's on." 

"How long will it take until he's normal again?" 

She grinned and winked at me. "I don't think he was ever normal in the first place." 

I attempted to wink back, but ended up blinking really hard. 

Dad rubbed his eyes. 

"Don't worry, sir, he'll probably be alright by tomorrow. Maybe earlier." 

"Thank you." 

"Sure. And if you need me again, push the nurse button on his bed." 

"Thank you again." 

"Sure." 

"How are you feeling, Marco?" 

"Like a big, pink, fuzzy bunny!" I yelled. 

He looked at me funny. 

"Bunny, bunny, bunny," I mumbled. Then I threw up, all over the floor opposite the side my dad was on. I continued this for about 5 minutes. 

"Marco, are you alright?" 

"Eww... that smells..." 

"Marco..." 

I shook my head, trying to remove all the fuzziness. "Dad, is Paul gonna be alright?" I struggled to stay sane. 

"I hope so. They don't know. I wish I could tell you he's going to get up and walk out of here. But the doctors said that if this keeps up, they'll have to call it a coma." 

"A coma? When can I see him, Dad? This is my fault..." 

"Your fault?" 

"Sort of. I mea, we were driving down an alley and I was making a turn and he just ran out in front and I hit him..." 

"Marco," Dad looked grim. "Why weren't you paying closer attention to the road?" 

"I was! He was in my blind spot. Cassie was leaning over to change the song back and he was behind her head." 

He sighed and rubbed my head. 

~Guido~

I was now totally bored. Once again, I pulled myself out of bed. No one was going to stop me this time. I pulled my sleeves over my hands and headed out my door. 

A pair of hand landed on my shoulders. I knew it was nurse. "And what are you doing?" he hissed in my ear. 

"Taking a midnight stroll -- wait! The sun's not supposed to be up.... Oh! That's a mural. Nevermind." 

He laughed and pretended to strangle me. Then I knew whose hands they were. Phillip's hands were around my neck. Polly's older brother, Phillip Hanson. 

"Don't make me flip you." 

"Please don't," he said, releasing me with a grin as he walked in front of me. "Heading to the cafeteria. Care to come?" 

"Nah." 

"Your loss." 

I shrugged and walked off to find Jake. 

I found him with Cassie leaning on him, asleep. "Is she ok?" 

"She's just worried about Isacc." 

"Oh, I see. Is he doin' that bad?" 

"I guess. What's wrong with him anyway?" 

"Osterosarcoma." 

"What's that?" 

"A bone marrow cancer." 

~Polly~

I looked around for Jessie awhile. In case you don't know, Jes is a huge, muscular guy about 6'4''. He can put his fist through almost anything he wants. That's what worried me. Not that Jess would do anything like that -- but he could, if he so desired. I found him peacefully talking on the phone. 

"Sorry to bother you," he said into the receiver. "You sure?" he nodded to himself. "It's Isacc. (pause) Very funny. (pause) No, I don't want your advice or anything. (pause) I just needed someone to talk to. (pause) We had an argument. (pause) Shut up. (pause) No, I wouldn't. Sorry. (pause) Ok. (pause) I don't know." 

It went on like that for a while. I really just wanted to know who he was talking to. 

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Logan asked, leaning over me to peer at Jess. 

"Nothing, dork-off." 

He moved closer to listen more carefully to what Jesse was saying. The beginnings of a beard scratched my cheek. 

"Cut it out!" I hissed. 

He grinned as Jesse hung up the phone. 

I tried to look as natural as possible as Jesse came our way. When he walked by, he said calmly, "It was Flame, if you must know." 

~Rachel~

"How does he do that?" Polly asked to someone, hopefully not me, I wasn't sure what she was talking about. I was just aimlessly wandering the hospital, feeling sorry for myself and hoping my mom didn't decide to make a guest appearance. I'd already been chewed out by Greg and was not looking forward to seeing my mom and having it happen again. Anyway, I was just walking along and I stepped outside to get out of the stagnant, hospital air and was nearly run over. Well, actually, I was. My foot was over run by a wheel chair. "Oh shit!" I yelled, jumping up and down on my other foot. The guy in the chair turned and looked at me, startled, blinking and staring. I stamped my foot and tried to get the blood running again. He wasn't that heavy -- only heavy enough to make it hurt a little and then go to sleep. 

"Sorry. I do that all the time." 

Whoa, hello, deja vu? He sounded a lot like... Guido? Double take. Looked like Guido too. Dark hair, blue eyes, sturdy build... older brother? 

"Uhhhh..." 

"Are you ok?" 

"Uhhhh..." 

"Are you retarded?" 

"Uhhhh..." 

"Hey, Blondie, come on. This is not funny. I'm sorry, alright?" 

That was irritating. 

"Don't call me Blondie." 

"Are you alright... Blondie?" 

"I'll be fine as soon as I kick you." 

He laughed, wheeling out of the way of people going inside. 

"I'm serious!" 

"Ok, you do that," he replied, sarcastic but not bitter. He grinned and popped a wheelie, rolling around on the back wheels. 

"When you fall, I'm going to laugh." 

"You're welcome to," he dropped back to all four wheels. "So, seriously, is your foot ok?" 

I just glared at him. Oh, he was irritating. "I can't feel my toes." 

"But your foot's not broken?" 

"No..." 

"Ok. Later," he turned and headed inside adding "Blondie" as he passed through the door frame. 

I fumed. 

~Jake~

Finally, I was in the loop. Not that the loop was fun, mind you. I was just all freaked out now. I don't know much about cancers on account that I didn't know anyone who was infected with that sort of thing. Maybe I was just another person who felt sorry for them but knew they couldn't do anything except just donate blood and hope that some miracle drug would come along. 

Then I had an idea. Maybe it was the way that Cassie looked or the way the word "Ostersarcoma" fell off Guido's lips. Maybe it was just I was curious. I don't know but as soon as I could, with Cassie off searching for Rachel and Guido escorted back to his room, I headed back to where I had been. 

Then nurses had long since left and all that was left was the beeping machines, the bed, the window, the chair and the tiny body. He was asleep and his breathing was all out of wack. I closed the door gently hoping no one had noticed that I had entered but at the click, his eyes just flew open and he stared at me. "Jake, right?" 

I hadn't even known his name or anything about me and he knew my name. "Yeah, that's right." 

"Oh, cool," he shifted positions as best he could, attempting to sit up but with no such luck, dropped back and sighed. Obviously he was tired of his place in the world -- being the sick kid everyone felt sorry for and wanted to help. I can tell you I would be the same way. "Cass talks about you every time I see her." 

It was true, Cassie and Isacc were obviously pretty close on account that they had known each other nearly as long as Polly had known Marco. 

"Don't talk much?" 

I blinked back to reality after just fitting pieces of the puzzle I had left behind so long together. Why hadn't Cassie ever told me he was sick? "Sometimes..." 

"That's alright. But I mean, if it's the way I look or something... I know I'm not appealing to the eye." 

He even took hits on the way he looked. That I couldn't do. "No, no, it's not that." 

Finally he struggled and sat up, offering a hand connected to an IV. He just kinda looked at it a minute and when it stopped swinging, looked at me. I took his hand carefully and shook it twice in a nervous kind of way. "I'm Isacc, in case you don't know, the discustining sick 19-year-old." 

~Cassie~

Jake was gone when I came back so I checked Marco's room. Marco wasn't there but there was a man cleaning up... umm... a mess. "Wasn't there someone in here?" I asked, worried I had the wrong room. 

"Oh, yeah, he's around here somewhere. His father and a nurse took him to the intensive care units." 

"What? Why?" 

"Visiting someone, I think they said," he looked up at me, he was massive. Dark eyes, black hair, deep, rich African-American skin, taught around his body on account that his muscles were huge. Funny thing is, I knew I'd seen him somewhere. "You alright?" he asked, putting down his mop and walking over to me, as I noticed the slight accent I'd heard only once before. Nigerian accent. Just couldn't remember his name. 

"Cassie? Are you alright?" 

I nearly squeeked when he said my name. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." 

Slowly a smile curled the ends of his lips. "You don't remember me, do you?" 

"Well, I do. I just forgot your name." 

"Erath. Asaph Erath." 

Click, hello. "Oh, yeah. Sorry..." 

"Not necassary," he went back to cleaning and finished quicker than I thought he would. "So," he turned back to me, placing the mop on a janitorial cart, "what are you here for?" 

"Oh... a few things. My friends and I were in a--" 

Another man walked up and said a few things I couldn't understand, on account that they were Spainish, to Erath. He nodded. "You owe me one, Pablo." 

The the man -- Pablo -- walked off with the janitorial cart. 

"You don't work here?" 

"No, no way, this place gives me the creeps but I had to pay back a favor. Anyway, what were you doing here again?" 

"Well, my friends and I were in a gang--" 

"Wait, wait, wait, you were in a gang?" 

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We were in an alley, hit Marco's cousin with Jake's truck and then the Crows came up and wanted Paul -- that's Marco's cousin -- because he ran away from the Crows and then they stayed but I went to get help and then I found Guido and he and I went to the alley and there were more than he could handle and they shot him in the hand and I went for Polly and we came back and there was this big fight and now we're all here because Marco was shot in the foot, Tobias in the back, Paul's in a coma and... and..." 

"Slow down, I can't keep up with you." 

"That's the whole story." 

He considered it, sighed and said, "That is not a good thing." 

"Oh, oh, yeah, and when I went back for Polly, she wasn't home so Jesse had to go get her and then Isacc--" 

"If Isacc comes into the story, I know he's here. No more needs to be said." 

"Thanks... spares me a lot of breath." 

He smiled. "Is Jesse here?" 

"Yeah, somewhere. This is a big place." 

"True that. Anyway, if you need anything Cass, just tell me, alright? I'm gonna go search for the J-man." 

"Ok, nice talking to you...." 

He winked and walked off, actually, it was more him lumbering off. 

~Jake~

Finally, we knew each other a little better. I mean, we knew enough about each other that we could have a half-way decent conversation. 

"You seriously don't remember that?" 

"No. I mean, I'm not a huge sports guy." 

"Come on, it was a total upset!" 

He laughed, coughed and closed his eyes. 

"Are you alright? 'Cause I cam go get a nur--" 

"No, no. I'm fine, I'm fine," his eyes re-opened. "Forget about it. Go on. A total upset? When was this?" 

"A couple years ago today." 

"Geez," his eyes started doing this little thing and when you see it, you know that person's thinking. "No, couldn't have known. I was here then. I'm always in here about this time. Force of habit." 

I grinned. Then dropped it. "Sorry, I didn't mean--" 

"Stop appologizing. I swear. You are the hardest guy to keep smiling. I was joking. Joooooking, Jake." 

"Alright, alright." 

"Hey, guys. I've been looking for you." 

"Cassie. Darn, party's over." 

She laughed, I attempted a smile. 

"Is it always this none-smiling?" 

"No," Cassie poked me. "Jake, come on." 

I shook my head. 

"I get it. Can't laugh at me because I'm sick. That is so..." he sighed. "Nevermind." 

"No, Isacc, I think you're right," Cass looked at me, right in the eye. "Is it because he's sick?" 

"Is what because he's sick?" 

"Jake, I'm serious." 

"So am I." 

~Tobias~

It had all gone so smoothly. I'd never thought it'd be that easy. And someone else had donated -- don't know who though. 

[ Email Brynn here. ][1]

TBC. As soon as Brynn writes more, you will see it!!!!!

   [1]: mailto:LdyKier@aol.com



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